Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Volume 6 Article 13

January 1993

Book Reviews: "The Unity of Reality: God, God-

Experience, and Meditation in the Hindu-Christian
Dialogue"
Bede Griffiths

Michael Stoeber

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Recommended Citation
Griffiths, Bede and Stoeber, Michael (1993) "Book Reviews: "The Unity of Reality: God, God-Experience, and Meditation in the
Hindu-Christian Dialogue"," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 6, Article 13.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1082

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 Griffiths and Stoeber: Book Reviews: "The Unity of Reality: God, God-Experience, and Meditation in the Hindu-Christian Dialogue"
BOOK REVIEWS
The Unity of Reality: God, God-Experience, and Meditation in
the Hindu-Christian Dialogue. Michael von Bruck. James V. Zeitz tr.
New York: Paulist Press, 1991, 340p., incl. glossary and index.
ONE OF THE fundamental problems in
theology today is to know how to relate the
Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Hindu
experience of non-duality (advaita). Jules
Monchanin, the founder of Shantivanam
Ashram in India once declared that the focus
of the ashram was 'advaita and the Trinity';
and his companion Henri Ie Saux (Swami
Abhishiktananda) attempted in his own way,
especially in his .book Saccidananda, to
fathom the mystery; but in his book Michael
von Briick, who spent many years in India,
has presented the problems with a depth of
understanding and a methodical comprehen-
sion which has never been achieved before.
He begins with a careful presentation of
the Vedantic phiiosophy, especially as shown
in the teaching of Sankara, the Indian
philosopher who is an acknowledged master
of advaita Vedanta. He then moves on to a
study of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity
from the time of the early fathers to the
mystics of the Middle Ages - especially
Tauler and Suso, leaving out their master
Eckhart, as he has already been studied in
depth in relation to both Hindu and Buddhist
thought. He then shows how Luther's
theology was influenced by the study of the
mystics, especially through the mystical
treatises known as the Theologia Germanica
and moves on to a most interesting exposition
of the Trinitarian philosophy of Hegel,
showing how close it comes to advaita; the
study of Karl Barth and other modem
German theologians completes this presenta-
tion of the doctrine of the Trinity.
Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin 6 (1993) 45-60
Published by Digital Commons @ Butler University, 1993
He now moves on to what is the main
thesis of this book,. the presentation of a
comprehensive understanding of the
Christian Trinity seen in the light of the
experience of non-duality. It must be made
clear that advaita is. not a philosophical
theory but an experience of reality, which is
normally mediated through the practice of
meditation. This is the great difference
between the Eastern and the Western
approach to reality. The Western mind,
following Plato and Aristotle, has normally
followed the method of logical deduction,
based in Christian theology on the revelation
contained in the Bible. The Eastern mind
starts from the intuitive experience of reality,
but Michael is careful to point. out that
intuitive experience, especially the meditative
ex;perience of non-duality, must always be
rationally developed, as is seen in all the
leading schools of Hinduism and Buddhism.
There is therefore no question of putting
mystical experience in opposjtion to rational
knowledge, but working always towards their
integration.
In this way the doctrine of the non-
duality of the persons of the Trinity is seen to
be based on the understanding of
'perichoresis' (literally the dance), that is the
movement of Being itself in its self-expres-
sion and self-realisation. In this view, person
signifies relationship and the persons of the
Trinity are essentially the expression of
absolute Being of God in its eternal self-
giving in love. Being expresses itself
eternally in the Word, and communicates
1
i' ! Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 6 [1993], Art. 13
46 Book Reviews
,:,1,
I',
itself eternally in the Spirit. We must
remember that in using words like this we are
f using terms of analogy. Humanity is made in
the image of God and human consciousness
11 reflects the original being and consciousness
from which it comes. Such language points
towards or indicates a reality which our
human mind reflects.
But lest this should appear as a merely
metaphysical concept of God, Michael
emphasises how it is based on the Incarna-
tion in Christ. In Christ the eternal reality,
which is also pure consciousness, expresses
and communicates itself in a movement
analogous to its eternal expression and com-
munication in the Trinity. In this way human
history, including all human sin and misery,
is seen to be integral to the unfolding life of
the Trinity. We have to remember that in
expressing himself in his Word the Godhead
expresses the whole universe and all human-
ity, which are a reflection of the infinite
being and consciousness of God.
But above all we have to realise that all
these relationships which constitute the inner
life of the Trinity are 'non-dual' relationships.
The eternal Being differentiates itself in
consciousness, but at the same time always
remains absolutely one. This is obviously a
mystical insight and we have to recognise
that all theology points toward a transcendent
reality which is beyond word and thought.
THIS BOOK IS inter-religious dialogue
that draws on Advaitic thought in developing
a Christian mystic theology. Some sections
of it are quite dense and even convoluted at
times, and the comparative parallels are not
always persuasive. Nevertheless, the essen-
tial thrust of von Bruck's argument is pene-
trating and seems in many respects a cogent
proposal. He focuses on the transformative
power of the Advaitic non-duality experi-
ence, suggesting that it is an existential real-
isation which corresponds to and illuminates
http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs/vol6/iss1/13
DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1082
We are being challenged today, as Pere de
Lubac said to Fr. Monchanin, to rethink
everything in terms of theology and to rethink
theology in terms of mysticism.
It is impossible in a short review to do
more than indicate the immeasurable riches
to be found in this understanding of the
trinity as the universal ground of all reality.
Nothing in the universe, including sin, suffer-
ing and death, as reflected in the crucifixion
of Christ, is. outside the mystery of the
Trinity. It reflects the dynamism of love
which permeates the whole creation. We are
all involved at all times in the mysterious
process, by which the eternal reality mani-
fests itself in all creation and draws every
creature out of its immersion in the spatio-
temporal world into its own eternal life, thus
reconciling all opposites, and revealing the
essential 'unity of reality' .
It should be added that this is a trans-
lation from German. How accurate it is I
cannot say, but the translator has succeeded
in putting in clear and concise English the
extremely rich and complex thought con-
tained in this extraordinary book. I can only
recommend all those who are concerned with
the evolution of theology today to study this
book and see for themselves the depths of
insight which it brings ..
Bede Griffiths
aspects of the apophatic experience of the
Christian Trinity. 'Perichoresis' (dance)
describes the 'mutual permeation' of the
Persons of the Trinity (p.87). It characterises
the 'polar movement' between the unity in
transforming the consciousness of the mystic.
In Part n of the book, this trinitarian
perichoresis is illustrated in reference to
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius,
Gregory of Nyssa, John Damascene,
Augustine, The Cloud of UnknOWing, Suso,
and Tauler. Also, von Bruck attempts to
clarify his view in dialogue with Tillich,
2
 Griffiths and Stoeber: Book Reviews: "The Unity of Reality: God, God-Experience, and Meditation in the Hindu-Christian Dialogue"
Luther, Hegel, Barth, Pannenberg and Molt-
mann, and he makes extensive references to a
wide variety of secondary material.
The Trinity symbolises the dialectic
between apophatic and cataphatic God: it is
the process of unity ~n distinction, wherein
the three Persons perichoretically reveal the
essential unity of the Divine. This pericho-
retic revelation cannot be comprehended
through transitive thought but only experi-
enced in an 'intransitive becoming conscious'
(p.78). In meditative experience the mystic
participates in the perichoresis of trinitarian
non-duality. Von Bruck goes on in Part III to
develop an epistemological. framework for
the trans-subjective experience, one that
involves personal, self-transformative
methods of verification. Meditative
consciousness is a spiritual experience that
encompasses both mental and sensual
consciousness. Advaitic unity is 'understood
not as a statement, but as a self-realising
process' (p.l83). Evidence of its epistemo-
logical and ontological primacy is found in
its transformative consequences: reflecting
the perichoretic Trinity, the united con-
sciousness 'integrates all of reality in
contemplative receptivity' (191). The mystic's
consciousness is transmuted in advaitic
unity, and she expresses elements of the
Divine in daily life.
For von Bruck, Christian prayer and
Yogic meditation mutually inform each other
in an ascending hierarchy of petition, praise,
personally transformative prayer, and finally
contemplative concentration. Contemplation
corresponds to objectless meditation, the
stripping away (kenosis) of images, catego-
ries, and the egocentric will, and the plunge
into the dark nothingness of the infinite
abyss. Advaitic unity is the identification
with nirguna Brahman or Father. But for
von Bruck this is the 'eternal unity of the
many', 'the unity of possibility and realisa-
tion' (p.1S1). The experience does not
culminate in static and amoral 'nothingness',
but leads to the 'experience of Jesus as he. is
in himself; namely, as a center within the
trinitarian love' (p.189). Human conscious-
Published by Digital Commons @ Butler University, 1993
Book Reviews 47
ness is integrated and harmonised in the
unitive experience, and the mystic actively
expresses, like Jesus as exemplar of kenosis,
positive and personal elements of the Trinity.
Von Bruck attempts to illuminate the
perichoretic processes in reference to a wide
variety of Advaitic doctrine which he
develops in Part I. But not all the parallels
are clear or cogent. I think confusions arise
in part from various ambiguities in Advaita
Vedanta itself Von Bruck's thesis is a
Christian perspective which maintains the
essential value of creation, personality and
community. He admits that some Advaitans
depict the world, personality and history as
illusion, hence failing to integrate saguna
Brahman into the unitive experience. Yet he
postulates a 'transpersonal person' as the
Absolute in Advaita and insists upon theistic
elements. He maintains that Advaita does not
espouse a monistic ideal, he speaks of moksa
as the fruition of empirical reality' (p.68) and
suggests there is a purpose to Maya.
Moreover, he ascribes an ontological
connection between saguna and nirguna
Brahman and says that bhakti yoga is indis-
pensable to the unitive ideal in Advaita. But
even if we stretch to the limits the most crea-
tive Advaitic perspectives, it seems difficult
to maintain that 'we can present the experi-
ence of [Advaitic] non-duality as a melting
away of the human self in the ecstasy of the
unity of love based on divine grace' (p.64). I
think that a comparison between von Bruck's
reading of Advaita and Ramanuja's
Visistadvaita Vedanta would prove most
revealing in this regard. Indeed, von Bruck
perceives an irreversible dependence of
atman upon Brahman (tadatmya), and a
relationship in the non-duality of Advaita. He
says: 'each person is an atman who is neither
identical with nor different from the
Absolute, but in a particular relationship of
non-duality to it' (p.137).
I suspect that von Bruck would find
stronger parallels to tfinitarian perichoresis
in other forms of Vedanta. Moreover, it is
not always clear to the reader just where von
Bruck's reading of Advaita transforms into
3
 Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 6 [1993], Art. 13
48 Book Reviews
the 'creative integration' of his own Christian,
theistic perspective. But it is clear that in
establishing some correlations between
Advaitic and Christian mystical experience
von Bruck firmly locates spiritual experience
at the forefront of inter-religious dialogue.
From a Christian standpoint, intra-trinitarian,
perichoretic transformation illustrates the
'trans-historical power of the Spirit'. (p.263)
and moves the terms of conversion away
from cognitive beliefs that are socio-
historically conditioned, to experiences of the
Spirit which are not exclusive to Christianity.
As von Bruck puts it: 'The "how" and
"where" of this realisation cannot be confmed
to our theological pronouncements and
church walls' (p.265).
Von Bruck sees the Christ event as a
limited 'historical accident' that qualitatively
transforms history in that this aspect of the
Trinity becomes the integrating factor in
trinitarian perichoresis. Although the effects
of this event are not exclusive to the western
world, the personal and active experience of
Christ is the natural extension of the non-
duality of Advaita. It draws the historical
into the contemplative mode and integrates
the socio-historical with the unitive
experience. But Advaita provides insight into
the nature of the trinitarian unity, as well as
the spiritual means necessary to the peri-
The Law of Karma. Bruce R. Reichenbach. Honolulu: Univet:sity of Hawaii
Press, 1990, 238p.
THE LAW OF Karma is a facet of Indian
thought which is known best to the West but
is understood the least. The book under
review has all of the requisites to change
that.
The philosophical approach of the book
sets it apart from recent contributions to the
field that follow historical and anthropo-
logical lines. It is also distinguished by
addressing the issues of karma in its total
Indian setting, and by delving into the subject
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DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1082
choretic movement. Moreover, von Bruck
insightfully adapts from Advaita a doctrine
of rebirth, one which he deems necessary to
coherent theodicy. He addresses traditional
Christian theological objections to rebirth
and criticises popular misconceptions as well
as Advaitic perspectives which deny the
reality of samsara. His views on spiritual
growth and the socio-communal ideal of
Christian perichoretic transformation require
the postulation of a unique personal centre of
the individual, and the rebirth into this
particular realm of existence in progressive
movement towards the perichoretic ideal.
Von Bruck's theological development
should stimulate discussion on a number of
controversial issues: the relation of his
mystic theology to more mainstream
Christian perspectives; his stress on personal
spiritual experience and the epistemology
thereof; his interpretation of Advaitic
doctrine; and his views on religious truth,
rebirth, the Christ, proselytism, and the
nawre of inter-religious dialogue. The Unity
of Reality is a provocative and significant
book.
Michael Stoeber
Catholic University of America
Washington, D. C.
as 'a living thesis' that goes beyond the
classical documents to the exposition of
contemporary scholars.
Because this doctrine is a master key
that opens many other religious and philo-
sophical doors, the reader is ushered into
numerous chambers that discuss the Law of
Karma in relation' to its Metaphysical
Presuppositions; to the Law of Universal
Causation; to Fatalism; to the Problem of
Evil; to Causation and Divine Intervention;
i
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